


By this Day

by Orsino Mountanto (DonOsservatore)



Series: Alternative Scenes in Shakespeare [2]
Category: A Midsummer Night's Dream - All Media Types, SHAKESPEARE William - Works
Genre: Altered Events, ConfusedLysander, Demetrius is a Jerk, Egeus is of questionable morals, F/M, Headcanon Backstory, Helena is abandoned, Light Measure for Measure references, Love Potion Antics, Love Potion gone wrong, Love Potion/Spell, Misuse of Love Potion, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-06-04 03:01:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6638635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DonOsservatore/pseuds/Orsino%20Mountanto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Helena has followed Demetrius into the woods after telling him of the flight of Hermia and Lysander. When she discovers them asleep she notices both of them and hilarity ensues.</p><p>Spins off of Midsummer Night's Dream in Act Two, Scene Two just during Helena's monologue before Lysander wakes up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Helena's Chase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helena gets lost chasing Demetrius and stumbles across a sleeping Lysander and Hermia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Midsummer’s Night Dream is one of my favorite plays by Shakespeare, and I have had the good fortune to play the role of Lysander in a production before. I also love to analyze and figure out the reasons the characters act the way they do. The other day I asked myself, “Why does Helena not notice that Hermia is lying a few feet away from Lysander when she stumbles across them?” Followed promptly by a “What if she did?” And thus the idea for this fic was born.

Helena was exhausted, and regretting her decision to tell Demetrius of Lysander and Hermia’s flight. How Demetrius had misused her since their introduction not two years prior. He had wooed her, uttered words of love to, asked her to marry him and for what? To cast her aside for another the instant her father’s ships were lost and with them a good portion of her dowry. To make the situation worse, her family were unable to sue Demetrius for Breach of Promise because her best friend’s father put Demetrius under his protection. All to invoke an old law so that Lysander couldn’t marry Hermia. Which she could not fathom the reason he did this, what had changed both men’s hearts so? But that was unimportant, what was important was that here she was chasing Demetrius and trying to get his love back, and he had to be difficult. Indeed, even just now she had tripped and he took advantage to be off. She had to breathe for a second, bemoaning Demetrius’s betrayal even as she spoke. But then she looked down on the thing that had tripped her.  
“What’s this? Lysander? On the ground… Dead? or asleep?” Helena said, looking around and making sure he was alright. “I see no blood, no wound?” Helena looked around, surely Hermia had not been delayed, Helena had seen Hermia enter the forest herself. “Where’s Hermia, then?” She said, before noticing that Lysander’s arm was pointed towards a place across from him. She looked to the place and looked down. “Oh heavens, Hermia!” Helena said with a sense of curiosity, noticing Hermia beginning to toss and turn. “Hermia, Hermia, wake up!” She shook her friend hoping she would wake, and sure enough, Hermia did, bolting straight up with eyes darting, seeming relieved to see a friendly face.  
“Oh Helena, what I dream I did have. I dreamt that a serpent crawled upon my breast and ate my heart away, and Lysander sat smiling at its cruel prey. Is he here?” Hermia said, all worry in her eyes.  
“He still sleeps where I presume, you left him. Why were you sleeping so far apart?” Helena responded, leaning back from her friend looking at her and then back to where Lysander was lying asleep, Hermia’s eyes followed.  
“I asked him to sleep apart for modesty’s sake.” Hermia said a bit bashfully. Rising as Helena did the same to return to her beloved, Helena groaning in exasperation as they approached the sleeping Lysander, just as his eyes opened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my! How will Lysander behave once awakened? Tune in next time to find out!
> 
> Happy 400th Birthday William Shakespeare!


	2. Lysander's Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lysander Awakens

Lysander’s dreams had been fraught with confusion, he saw Hermia being forced away from him, by an unseen force and someone else being forced into her place but it was not true, then there was a pulling force, pulling him between Hermia and the new one. It couldn’t be true. It didn’t make any sense. He heard voices as he slowly worked, two of the most beautiful sounds of the world, just vibrating into his ears. He didn’t understand why he felt the need to reach for both of them, but he did, his eyes fluttering open and staring into the eyes of Helena and Hermia. His lips moved, mouthing their names. He looked at them, and his mind wondered why they were looking at him with concern on their faces. Not registering that they were absorbing the look in his eyes and face as he sat up and pulled their faces into a sloppy, three way kiss.  
Breaking the kiss he noticed their stunned faces. “My beloveds.” He said with a passion that almost seemed wilder than his normal passionate declarations to Hermia. “How have I been so foolish as to think my heart only held one of you. Nature shows art as through thy bosoms shows me thy hearts.” Helena’s eyes widened in shocked slight fear but Lysander did not seem to understand. It was all simple to him. He loved both Helena and Hermia and he could think of nothing that would stop him from being with them both. It was then when he remembered Demetrius. “Where is Demetrius, how fit a word, is that vile name to perish on my sword.” He rose from his seated position moving past the girls a little to draw his sword as if hunting for where Demetrius was.  
“Lysander, calm. How can this be? You love Hermia and not me.” Helena said as she and Hermia both restrained Lysander, Hermia gently removing Lysander’s sword from his grasp and re-sheathing it.  
“Gentle love, for me please do not be so violent. We should go. All of us towards thy Aunt’s house, and continue on our way.” She stroked his arm gently as she managed to calm his fury only for him to drop to his knees. “Lysander, Lord? What is wrong?”  
“My head, it’s hurting. Pulling me two different ways.” He said, “Something is wrong, let us get near a stream so that my head may stop hurting.” He began to rise and stumbled. Hermia quickly catching him and then gesturing to Helena to help support Lysander as they made their way back towards a river. Unheard and unseen a voice whispered to another figure.

 

“What hast thou done!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will I add a third chapter? Or shall I leave it here? You decide.


End file.
